Sources say Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan was not in favour of S.P. Gupta’s ouster, but allegations against him had become ‘untenable’.
New Delhi: After a slew of charges of misconduct and conflict of interest against him, retired IAS officer S.P. Gupta, who is believed to be close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has stepped down as the chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).
Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan was not in favour of Gupta’s ouster, but allegations against him had become “untenable,” and he was finally asked to resign last week, sources said.
The move comes in the backdrop of several complaints made by Union Minister Maneka Gandhi against Gupta, who was appointed in December 2017 as the chairman of the statutory body which advises the government on matters concerning animal welfare.
In a letter to Vardhan in July last year, Gandhi had said, “It would be unfair to let a corrupt, irresponsible and destructive individual head a body of the Government which aims at welfare of the weakest members of society.”
In response to at least six letters written by Gandhi, Vardhan had said he is getting the matter of “replacing the present AWBI Chairperson” looked into.
ThePrint reached Gupta for a comment but there was no response till the time of publishing this report.
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Allegations against Gupta
Among the several allegations made by Gandhi, the most serious related to alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Performing Animal Sub-Committee (PASC) — a nine-member body meant to evaluate applications for use of animal performances in films, events, etc.
For instance, according to letters written by Gandhi, Gupta “liberally” gave the permission
to use monkeys — a species whose exhibition and performance is prohibited under a Central government notification dated 14 October, 1998 — on at least six occasions for TV serials like Swami Ramdev, Dus ka Dum, etc. in complete contravention of the law.
Days after the environment ministry decided to ban animals from performing in circuses in November 2018, Gupta shot off a letter to the ministry saying the decision should be retracted since it seems to have been taken “under the influence of agencies having link with international organisations with ulterior motives”.
Animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi had even moved the Supreme Court against Gupta over allegations that Gandhi made, after which the court had asked the ministry to respond to the allegations.
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Gupta was also accused of conflict of interest by Gandhi. He runs a prominent cow shelter in Mewat, Haryana.
He has also been at loggerheads with several animal rights activists for seldom promoting animal welfare through his tenure as AWBI chief.